In the previous two posts we've established that the Worthless Co-Worker has been rehired and is as loony tune as ever. Actually I believe she's even more mentally unstable now than when she worked here the first time.
I think everyone knows someone who is mentally unstable, or bat shit crazy if you will. There are some people who actually get more unstable as they age. It's almost like Alzheimer's where a person starts out getting a little forgetful and progressively gets worse. That's the best way to describe her in my mind. The first time she worked here she was a little bit unstable, and now is even more unstable. I just see it getting worse as she gets older.
We also established that my boss is in hot water with his new boss in the last post as well. To some extent this is warranted because he's been allowed to coast and under perform in the past.
The Worthless Co-Worker went through the 30 day probation period on her best behavior. There weren't any signs of the shit storm of a tsunami approaching once she got past this 30 day probationary period. Oh yes, there were signs of loony tune there, but it all related to her personal life, which the boss and I really didn't care about. As a matter of fact we expected that to be the case because that's just her.
In hindsight two and two should have been put together. If she couldn't get along with anyone, and I mean anyone in her family, why was she getting along with us so smoothly during her first 30 days here? This applied to any friends she had. Well, friend any way, I only know of one person who tolerated her who could be classified as a friend to her, and that friendship ended in this time frame as well.
No, we were simply amused by her tales of woe when it came to her family and friend(s). The thinking was "Yup, she's still crazy, but no trouble here, so whatever." It was entertaining in a train wreck, non-lethal way to us.
Once the probationary period ended it all changed. The boss was her main target. She knew his boss disliked him and in her demented mind she thought if he was fired she was the logical choice to replace him. She knew I had no interest, and never have, in being the manager of the store.
All of a sudden when I was working with her, her litany of complaints about the boss grew. As they grew they took on a life of their own, becoming far worse to her than the reality of the situation. While some of her complaints had validity, most were overblown and way out of proportion. When she wasn't receiving a sympathetic ear from me all of a sudden I was a problem to her as well.
When she made a mistake it was always my fault. Most of her assertions were so outlandish I spent most of my time simply alternating between being amused and irritated with her.
She'd ring up a sale using a wrong finance option and it was my fault because I told her it was okay. Never mind I was off the day it occurred, it was still my fault.
She'd screw up inventory when product shipments were received and it was my fault because I told her not to worry about updating the system. (Um, yeah, not so much. The company takes inventory control anally serious.)
She left a product bin outside the gate on the mall floor one night when closing and apparently I once again was at fault because I told her it was okay to do something like that. Never mind that what was actually said by me to her the next day was that this had happened in the past by a previous employee and we were lucky to have nothing stolen overnight. (And seriously, how does one close and lock a gate, kneeling down right next to this product bin by the way, and not realize that maybe you should pull it back into the store prior to locking the gate?)
Naturally she uses these excuses when confronted by the boss and he sees through her absurdity. She then goes off the deep end and declares she doesn't appreciate being called a liar. My response to her is to simply quit lying then and take responsibility for her own actions. As you might have guessed this doesn't go over well either.
One of her biggest complaints about the boss is that he never cleans. True enough. Sadly she thinks she's the only one who does any cleaning though. The truth of the matter is all she does is talk about cleaning and by simply talking about cleaning it suddenly transforms into actual cleaning on her part. I've never seen her do any cleaning, ever. When I pointed out to her that talking about cleaning and actual cleaning are two different things she goes berserk. Bat shit crazy berserk.
If she's not selling well it is the fault of the boss because naturally, in her mind, if he's not doing his job, she can't sell anything. Now I'm willing to concede the boss is lazy, although he's improving because.. well... he has to due to his new boss and his demands. I also know that neither his laziness nor her craziness for that matter, have never inhibited my sales.
There have been many instances of property destruction since she's returned as well. A towel rack in our bathroom has mysteriously been pulled off the wall. One of our phones has had its phone cord damaged and the phone rendered unusable. While it can't be proven she's responsible for the damage, both items, in her mind, didn't work properly and she has wanted them replaced. Since there was nothing wrong with either item they weren't replaced, until damaged of course.
Any way....
Her complaints and whining were falling on deaf ears here. This enraged her, more so than a normal person could ever imagine. The week of Black Friday rolls around and in the retail world this is a huge event. Our district manager decided to show up on Monday of that week when it was just myself and the Worthless Co-Worker working to cover plans and strategy for the week. The day was going well and the Worthless Co-Worker was behaving and acting reasonably sane for a change. Right when the district manager announced he was satisfied with what we were doing and he was leaving she speaks up.
She informs him she needs to speak with him privately and off they go out into the mall and they're gone for over 2 1/2 hours.
And once again, as this post is long enough as it is, the next post will continue this seemingly never ending drama. As you may have guessed she threw the boss, and myself to some extent, under the bus. She came back into the store all teary-eyed...... to be continued.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Well, She's Back: Part Two
Note: Reading the previous post prior to reading this one is recommended.
As mentioned in the previous post my boss has a new boss as of last July. There were many reasons for this change which I'll attempt to layout as follows:
1) We're a profitable store but not growing as fast as the average company store has the past year or two.
2) The previous district manager was too hands off and too far away from us to hold my boss accountable for store operations. He's close to retirement and is just basically on cruise control.
3) (This probably should have been #1) My boss, who is a nice guy, is probably the laziest person I've ever worked for.
4) The fact that we were short handed for the better part of 10 months does fall directly on my bosses shoulders. The lazy factor played a significant role in this.
5) His last hire, before bringing the Worthless Co-Worker back on board, was his brother-in-law who possibly was the nicest guy on the planet. He was probably the dumbest guy on the planet as well and couldn't give product away, much less sell anything. Hiring family is a violation of company policy as well.
6) My boss loves his laptop and always has his head buried in it watching sports on weekends and his head buried in facebook and yahoo games during the week. Naturally this is against company policy.
7) My boss is also a social butterfly who wanders the mall yapping at people in other stores and just generally goofing off rather than doing his job.
I think you guys get the picture by now.
So.... the new district manager:
1) Gung-ho.
2) Asshole, which honestly doesn't bother me much, and is definitely needed at this point.
3) Pretty smart guy, and pegged my boss from the get-go as a slacker.
4) Has zero tolerance for bullshit. (A trait I'm very fond of actually.)
5) Has a strong dislike of my boss.
Unlike our previous district manager who we saw for one day every quarter this guy shows up quite frequently. And usually unannounced, something the previous district manager never did. There's no doubt in my mind he's trying to catch my boss not following policies, and he has caught him at a few things, but nothing that would call for terminating him.
This district manager pretty much knows what is going on and is looking to catch my boss not doing his job. He's talked to people who have worked with my boss in our district in the past and has a pretty clear picture of what is going on.
Back in August this district manager called me 3 times in one week trying to wheedle information out of me about my boss and didn't like my response(s) to his calls. I neither confirmed, nor denied anything he'd heard or thought. I don't like to lie, but also didn't want to throw my boss under the bus. On the 3rd call I blew up at the district manager and told him to get off his ass and get down here and find out for himself what he was asking of me.
Basically my boss has been in hot water since this guy took over. But I can also say he's finally waking up and getting his act together. He's got a ways to go though and I'm not sure he's going to keep his job. It's a shame in one way because he's very capable of running the store if he'd just get off his ass and do it.
Adding insult to injury, so to speak, he hires back the Worthless Co-Worker. Her only redeeming quality is that she sells fairly well. She's also mentally unstable. I chose to describe her as mentally unstable rather than bat shit crazy because a lot of people will say someone is crazy. While I possess no degree in psychology I'm positive she's unstable.
So now the table is set and with the next post I will layout specifics on her actions and antics that is probably going to get my boss, and herself, fired before this circus act is over.
Stay tuned.... and stuff.
As mentioned in the previous post my boss has a new boss as of last July. There were many reasons for this change which I'll attempt to layout as follows:
1) We're a profitable store but not growing as fast as the average company store has the past year or two.
2) The previous district manager was too hands off and too far away from us to hold my boss accountable for store operations. He's close to retirement and is just basically on cruise control.
3) (This probably should have been #1) My boss, who is a nice guy, is probably the laziest person I've ever worked for.
4) The fact that we were short handed for the better part of 10 months does fall directly on my bosses shoulders. The lazy factor played a significant role in this.
5) His last hire, before bringing the Worthless Co-Worker back on board, was his brother-in-law who possibly was the nicest guy on the planet. He was probably the dumbest guy on the planet as well and couldn't give product away, much less sell anything. Hiring family is a violation of company policy as well.
6) My boss loves his laptop and always has his head buried in it watching sports on weekends and his head buried in facebook and yahoo games during the week. Naturally this is against company policy.
7) My boss is also a social butterfly who wanders the mall yapping at people in other stores and just generally goofing off rather than doing his job.
I think you guys get the picture by now.
So.... the new district manager:
1) Gung-ho.
2) Asshole, which honestly doesn't bother me much, and is definitely needed at this point.
3) Pretty smart guy, and pegged my boss from the get-go as a slacker.
4) Has zero tolerance for bullshit. (A trait I'm very fond of actually.)
5) Has a strong dislike of my boss.
Unlike our previous district manager who we saw for one day every quarter this guy shows up quite frequently. And usually unannounced, something the previous district manager never did. There's no doubt in my mind he's trying to catch my boss not following policies, and he has caught him at a few things, but nothing that would call for terminating him.
This district manager pretty much knows what is going on and is looking to catch my boss not doing his job. He's talked to people who have worked with my boss in our district in the past and has a pretty clear picture of what is going on.
Back in August this district manager called me 3 times in one week trying to wheedle information out of me about my boss and didn't like my response(s) to his calls. I neither confirmed, nor denied anything he'd heard or thought. I don't like to lie, but also didn't want to throw my boss under the bus. On the 3rd call I blew up at the district manager and told him to get off his ass and get down here and find out for himself what he was asking of me.
Basically my boss has been in hot water since this guy took over. But I can also say he's finally waking up and getting his act together. He's got a ways to go though and I'm not sure he's going to keep his job. It's a shame in one way because he's very capable of running the store if he'd just get off his ass and do it.
Adding insult to injury, so to speak, he hires back the Worthless Co-Worker. Her only redeeming quality is that she sells fairly well. She's also mentally unstable. I chose to describe her as mentally unstable rather than bat shit crazy because a lot of people will say someone is crazy. While I possess no degree in psychology I'm positive she's unstable.
So now the table is set and with the next post I will layout specifics on her actions and antics that is probably going to get my boss, and herself, fired before this circus act is over.
Stay tuned.... and stuff.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Well, She's Back
As many some a few of you may remember we lost the Worthless Co-Worker in November of last year to true love..... or so she thought any way.
She ran off to Israel with this guy she met on the internet to get married in some type of old fashioned Jewish wedding. (Never mind that neither of them were Jewish.) They met in person for the first time at Thanksgiving last year and a week later flew off for this wedding extravaganza in Israel.
Apparently they ran out of money and somehow decided that maybe a wedding was a bad idea as well. So back home they came and she moved to New Mexico to live with him. That lasted about three weeks and he threw her out declaring "she was the devil." She then moved in with a friend she met down there, which apparently didn't go so well either.
The only things she owned at the time were her clothes and an old car as she sold all of her worldly goods to run off to Israel to get married. So here she was broke, jobless, and not really too welcome in New Mexico last winter and spring.
In the mean time, we were short handed at work, for a comically long period of time. From November of last year until August of this year as a matter of fact. Oh we were able to get a few people hired but they never lasted more than a few weeks. (One of them lasted a total of 3 days.)
Last May the Worthless Co-Worker had finally managed to save enough money to get back to Wisconsin for one of her sister's wedding, still planning on returning to New Mexico afterwards for some reason. Again, she ran out of money while back here so she had just a suitcase of clothes with her. The bulk of her clothes and car were back in New Mexico.
She moved into another sister's place and took on some type of door-to-door job. (Selling cable/internet packages I believe on a bike for transportation.)
As an aside, this post is taking a long time to type. I think eating chili for breakfast is having something to do with that. At least it's what I'm going to blame it on. I'd like to also tell you that the chili was mighty tasty and a two bowl event. (Yeah, you might not want to hang out with me later today as it works it way through my system, just saying.)
Any way....
In August she finally had enough money to fly to New Mexico to get her car and clothes. She was gone for about a week to do this and lost her door-to-door job. She failed to mention that she was taking this trip to her employer and they terminated her. She thought this was very unfair of them, naturally.
So here it was August, her unemployed, us short handed. A very bad combination. She convinced the boss, and his new boss, how much she had grown up and she was going to be the consumate team player if she were rehired. Both of them bought into this fantasy.
(You know, now that I've had time to think about it, I've been very unfair in blaming the chili for the length of time this post is taking me to type. I think it may be the fact that I've got to go outside of the building to smoke. I'm pretty sure that's the hindering factor here.)
Where was I any way?
Oh.....
So she was hired. She's been nothing but trouble once the 30 day probation period ended in September. We'll definitely get into more details but more groundwork needs layed. Remember, I mentioned the boss has a new boss himself a few paragraphs ago. That plays a factor in all this as well and since this post is long enough as it is (and you have to recall I like cliffhangers as well) the next post will delve into that.
What? Like that's a surprise? Pfft....
She ran off to Israel with this guy she met on the internet to get married in some type of old fashioned Jewish wedding. (Never mind that neither of them were Jewish.) They met in person for the first time at Thanksgiving last year and a week later flew off for this wedding extravaganza in Israel.
Apparently they ran out of money and somehow decided that maybe a wedding was a bad idea as well. So back home they came and she moved to New Mexico to live with him. That lasted about three weeks and he threw her out declaring "she was the devil." She then moved in with a friend she met down there, which apparently didn't go so well either.
The only things she owned at the time were her clothes and an old car as she sold all of her worldly goods to run off to Israel to get married. So here she was broke, jobless, and not really too welcome in New Mexico last winter and spring.
In the mean time, we were short handed at work, for a comically long period of time. From November of last year until August of this year as a matter of fact. Oh we were able to get a few people hired but they never lasted more than a few weeks. (One of them lasted a total of 3 days.)
Last May the Worthless Co-Worker had finally managed to save enough money to get back to Wisconsin for one of her sister's wedding, still planning on returning to New Mexico afterwards for some reason. Again, she ran out of money while back here so she had just a suitcase of clothes with her. The bulk of her clothes and car were back in New Mexico.
She moved into another sister's place and took on some type of door-to-door job. (Selling cable/internet packages I believe on a bike for transportation.)
As an aside, this post is taking a long time to type. I think eating chili for breakfast is having something to do with that. At least it's what I'm going to blame it on. I'd like to also tell you that the chili was mighty tasty and a two bowl event. (Yeah, you might not want to hang out with me later today as it works it way through my system, just saying.)
Any way....
In August she finally had enough money to fly to New Mexico to get her car and clothes. She was gone for about a week to do this and lost her door-to-door job. She failed to mention that she was taking this trip to her employer and they terminated her. She thought this was very unfair of them, naturally.
So here it was August, her unemployed, us short handed. A very bad combination. She convinced the boss, and his new boss, how much she had grown up and she was going to be the consumate team player if she were rehired. Both of them bought into this fantasy.
(You know, now that I've had time to think about it, I've been very unfair in blaming the chili for the length of time this post is taking me to type. I think it may be the fact that I've got to go outside of the building to smoke. I'm pretty sure that's the hindering factor here.)
Where was I any way?
Oh.....
So she was hired. She's been nothing but trouble once the 30 day probation period ended in September. We'll definitely get into more details but more groundwork needs layed. Remember, I mentioned the boss has a new boss himself a few paragraphs ago. That plays a factor in all this as well and since this post is long enough as it is (and you have to recall I like cliffhangers as well) the next post will delve into that.
What? Like that's a surprise? Pfft....
Friday, December 2, 2011
I'm Alive: Part Two
As alluded to in my previous post a tornado ruined my day last May. Actually the last 6 months weren't a banner time. I was at work and knew a tornado had touched down and heard about some damage in town, but what I heard about wasn't in the vicinity of where I lived.
As I headed home my dread began to build though. The closer I got to the area I lived, more and more damage was evident. As I turned down the street I lived on there were emergency vehicles everywhere. The closest I could get to my place was two blocks away, but I could see the building. A building with no roof and trees down all over the place.
Amazingly there were no injuries or deaths as there were people in the upper level of the building when the tornado hit. I spent the next couple of days in limbo to the status of my place as it was deemed unsafe to enter the building. Eventually we were allowed in the building to salvage what we could. My losses actually weren't caused by the tornado itself, but by the rain storm that followed.
While I had renter's insurance it was inadequate to cover my losses. Lesson learned the hard way I guess. I never imagined I'd ever need it to tell you the truth. The coverage I had covered about half of what I lost. Sadly, as I talked to other folks who lived in the building, very few of them had any insurance at all.
Oddly enough (and thankfully) my rent was never raised. Actually my rent has never gone up in the 9 plus years I've lived here. The landlord did a super job on the rebuild and the place is very nice. My rent is $165 less per month than any new occupants coming into the building now. I definitely can't complain about that.
I've got all new furniture for the most part, but the place still looks somewhat bare to me. I finally figured out the other day what it was that was making that impression on me. I need more pictures on the walls. Too much blank white spaces, so I've still got some more money to spend over the next few weeks.
Any way.....
It feels good to be home and blogging again. I've got a lot to blabber about, including the infamous Worthless Co-Worker. (Why yes, she's back, and as loony tune as ever.) We'll be getting to that in the near future I assure you.
As I headed home my dread began to build though. The closer I got to the area I lived, more and more damage was evident. As I turned down the street I lived on there were emergency vehicles everywhere. The closest I could get to my place was two blocks away, but I could see the building. A building with no roof and trees down all over the place.
Amazingly there were no injuries or deaths as there were people in the upper level of the building when the tornado hit. I spent the next couple of days in limbo to the status of my place as it was deemed unsafe to enter the building. Eventually we were allowed in the building to salvage what we could. My losses actually weren't caused by the tornado itself, but by the rain storm that followed.
While I had renter's insurance it was inadequate to cover my losses. Lesson learned the hard way I guess. I never imagined I'd ever need it to tell you the truth. The coverage I had covered about half of what I lost. Sadly, as I talked to other folks who lived in the building, very few of them had any insurance at all.
Oddly enough (and thankfully) my rent was never raised. Actually my rent has never gone up in the 9 plus years I've lived here. The landlord did a super job on the rebuild and the place is very nice. My rent is $165 less per month than any new occupants coming into the building now. I definitely can't complain about that.
I've got all new furniture for the most part, but the place still looks somewhat bare to me. I finally figured out the other day what it was that was making that impression on me. I need more pictures on the walls. Too much blank white spaces, so I've still got some more money to spend over the next few weeks.
Any way.....
It feels good to be home and blogging again. I've got a lot to blabber about, including the infamous Worthless Co-Worker. (Why yes, she's back, and as loony tune as ever.) We'll be getting to that in the near future I assure you.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
I'm Alive
Greetings.... to anyone who still wanders in here.
What's a six month absence between friends, huh?
Last May, the 22nd to be exact, a tornado ripped through the homestead here and leveled the place.
Fortunately I was at work and missed out on the excitement.
But.....
I was temporarily homeless, bunking with my son and his wife while this place was rebuilt. Most household items were lost/damaged. What I was able to salvage was packed away -- mostly electronics. Everything else had to be replaced.
So now I'm home and very happy to be here.
Hopefully I'll be able to get around to your blogs soon. I just wanted to post this quick little post for now.
What's a six month absence between friends, huh?
Last May, the 22nd to be exact, a tornado ripped through the homestead here and leveled the place.
Fortunately I was at work and missed out on the excitement.
But.....
I was temporarily homeless, bunking with my son and his wife while this place was rebuilt. Most household items were lost/damaged. What I was able to salvage was packed away -- mostly electronics. Everything else had to be replaced.
So now I'm home and very happy to be here.
Hopefully I'll be able to get around to your blogs soon. I just wanted to post this quick little post for now.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Just Shut Up Pakistan
Under normal circumstances a military raid in another country isn't the best option without it being a joint operation, or at least a "heads up" to the country itself.
That's under "normal" circumstances.
Osama bin Laden resided in that Pakistani compound for years. Personally I find it hard to believe there weren't factions in Pakistan who knew, and withheld this information from us. Perhaps it's possible Pakistan didn't know.
Perhaps.
Regardless, their complaints are not falling on deaf ears, but not sympathetic ears from my stand point.
If we find out there was Pakistani government or military involvement in hiding him I for one will not call for the United States to quit sending aid to Pakistan.
No......
I suggest a huge "aid package" be delivered, by bombers.
That's under "normal" circumstances.
Osama bin Laden resided in that Pakistani compound for years. Personally I find it hard to believe there weren't factions in Pakistan who knew, and withheld this information from us. Perhaps it's possible Pakistan didn't know.
Perhaps.
Regardless, their complaints are not falling on deaf ears, but not sympathetic ears from my stand point.
If we find out there was Pakistani government or military involvement in hiding him I for one will not call for the United States to quit sending aid to Pakistan.
No......
I suggest a huge "aid package" be delivered, by bombers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)